Young Chinese couples quick to divorce

Many young married couples in China are opting to get divorced rather than work out marital problems, new figures suggests.

According to official Chinese statistics, husbands and wives who are under the age of 30 - the majority of whom are only children as a result of China's family planning policy - are those most likely to divorce, China Daily reports.

In Shanghai, for example, 2,100 young couples got divorced in the period from January to May this year, which is a ten per cent increase when compared to the same period in 2006.

Commenting on the findings, Shu Xin, the founder of a divorce services company, told the paper: "[Young people] are more self-centred and overly protected compared with previous generations. So when they encounter problems in their marriage, many of them will avoid the problem by rushing into a divorce."

On average, 102 couples (of all ages) got divorced every day in China last year.